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Monday, June 26, 2017

In fall 2013, nearly a year and half after The Avengers became a box office mega-smash, ABC finally unveiled the series that would bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe to TV on a weekly basis. So high were ABC's hopes that the network put it at the start of a full night of new series. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. lived up to the billing on premiere night, exploding to 12.12 million viewers and a 4.7 demo rating.

But SHIELD's days as a potential megahit were short-lived: it took a 30% drop to a 3.3 in week two, and it was down again for each of the next five episodes before finally bouncing back a bit in November. It pretty much hung around 2.0 after the new year, which was still a bit above league average. That was enough for a renewal, but not enough to shake the "disappointment" narrative. And the needle didn't move much when its storyline was tied directly to Captain America: The Winter Soldier toward the end of the season.

Moving Later in the Night

The network launched comedies after SHIELD in season one when there was hope it could be something huge, but starting in season two ABC was more inclined to put the comedies at 8:00. That meant SHIELD was at 9:00 in seasons two and three, and both years took significant hits in the ratings. Some of its best trends came early in season three when The Muppets briefly livened up the night at 8:00, but SHIELD came back a weaker show once again in the second half of the season.

In season four, ABC had the comedy horses to go for a two-hour block on Tuesday, and SHIELD was pushed into the 10:00 hour. The erosion continued at double-digit levels with this move, and it seemed to be in serious danger during the winter months when it had five 0.6 ratings in a six-episode span. But it came back a little stronger after the spring hiatus, and lives to see another day. It will not be on in the early fall, but is slated to be part of an interesting push into Friday night drama programming alongside Once Upon a Time.